I Must Thank You
by TuringTest
Summary: Silver the Hedgehog is so bored of the same old, same old. He needs some excitement in his life. Could this mysterious biker boy he met at the coffee shop provide that excitement for him? Read on to find out how Silver's dating game goes. WARNING: This is a homosexual fan fiction featuring Silver and Shadow the Hedgehog. Please do not read if you are not interested in gay stuff.
1. Out of Cash

**Author's Notes:** _This fan fiction is going to feature homosexual themes and Sonic the Hedgehog characters. You have been warned. With that being said, in this alternate universe, Sonic the Hedgehog characters live normal, human-like lives. The characters have also been aged up to better fit their job titles and roles. Please be sure to leave a review, and if you notice any issues with grammar, spelling, or otherwise, let me know through a PM or a review. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I do!_

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The second had circled around the clock leisurely as Silver the Hedgehog watched with an open mouth and half shut eyes. A slow business day at the office's printing department meant that Silver had nothing to do, but that did not mean he could just leave. Silver's job was to take care of all printing needs for the other employees. This could mean printing the newest expense report to preparing a poster for an upcoming presentation. Silver would never say he hates his job; he would just like a little more excitement.

Silver jolted when he felt a buzz from his back pocket. He had been staring at the clock so long that he forgot he was texting his roommate Sonic the Hedgehog.

"You might want to get more coffee from that café you like because I brewed the last of it this morning," Sonic sent.

Silver let out a groan of agony. He had just bought a new bag of his favorite coffee from Vector's Café on Parkway Avenue. How could have Sonic possibly drank all of it already?

"Okay, I'll stop there on my way home," Silver responded, typing out each letter with quick fingers. He had had a lot of practice texting at work because printing doesn't really require much attention.

Silver checked the time on the clock over the door of his office.

"Only about ten minutes left of work, if you could even call this work," Silver mumbled to himself. He started getting the office space cleaned up and shut down for the night. The printers used up a lot of electricity, so Silver was in charge to make sure each one was turned off properly. He held the power button down on each of the industrial printers and waited for them to switch off. The printers' low hums and occasional beeps terminated when he finally got all of them to shut off.

Silver made his way to the parking garage where he clocked out downstairs. Some of his co-workers waved as he walked out of the elevator heading to his car. He threw his brief case into the back and loosened his tie a bit before starting the engine, or rather trying to start.

"Ugh, c'mon, not again," the hedgehog repeatedly turned the key, hoping not to choke the car's engine.

With a few more trials, the car's engine roared and Silver sighed in relief.

"I really need to find a good mechanic," he noted aloud.

Silver pulled out of the garage and started heading to Vector's Café. The traffic was unbelievable at this hour, but Silver just turned up the radio to make it seem less interminable. He flipped through the stations until he heard his new favorite song on a pop station. The hedgehog screamed in joy somewhat flamboyantly as he listened to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" while he drove. He knew every lyric to the song and was not afraid to sing in the privacy of his car, maybe even dance a little bit too.

Silver was pulling into the small parking lot of Vector's Café when his favorite part came on: T. Swift's rap-a-long.

"You could be getting down to this sick beat!" Silver sang along, shifting his car into park and unbuckling his seat belt. He danced around in his car until he heard a motorcycle engine nearing his parking spot. His singing died out as he saw a black hedgehog ride into the parking space next to his and let down the kick stand. The motorcyclist took off his helmet and his long, red striped quills were revealed.

Silver did not even notice he was staring at the guy until he gave Silver a confused look. Silver immediately turned away and put his hands over his eyes. 'Oh my gosh! I was totally staring at that biker! I hope he doesn't beat me up or worse…" Silver thought.

The biker headed into Vector's Café which made Silver even more flushed. Not only did he have to see this guy again in the store, but what if he tried to talk to him. Silver was shaking nervously as he closed his car door and walked into the door of the café. There was no sight of the biker that Silver was so nervous about seeing inside. Silver wiped the sweat beads off of his forehead and looked for his favorite coffee brew: Vector's Café's own Caramel Dream.

Silver's eyes gazed across the rows on the shelves, searching for his coffee brew. He used his pointed his finger along he bags to help him search.

"Chocolate, House Blend, Marshmallow… oh, here it is!" Silver found the caramel flavored coffee and merrily made his way to the front of the shop to get in line.

Silver patiently waited for the customers in front of him to get their drinks. Vector's Café was a bustling place, and they have earned it. The café has designer coffee drinks, delicious food, and also sells books. A lot of young adults came to socialize and eat at Vector's Café.

Silver looked around the shop, admiring the paintings of coffee and books on the walls, but he was shocked when he saw the biker from outside approach the line he was in.

'Please don't get behind me…' Silver hoped internally, turning his body to face the line. He could not deal with any type of confrontation. His pleas were not answered, however, because he heard the jingle of the biker's chain as he got in line behind Silver. Silver clenched his teeth and started to shake as he felt the biker's seemingly dark presence behind him. Luckily, he was next in line and could get out of here as soon as he paid.

Silver set his bag of coffee on the counter and the clerk scanned it.

"Will this be all for you today, sir?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"Uh, yeah, this is it," he replied nervously, trying not to look behind him and see the biker.

"$10.46 is your total today," the clerk stated.

Silver reached for his wallet in his back pocket when he felt nothing but his own pants. He began to panic and checked his other pockets, but to no avail did his wallet appear. Silver left his wallet at home in his bedroom. He never needed it at work, so he sometimes forgot to grab it

"Umm, I think I forgot my wallet at home. I guess won't be buying this after all," Silver let out a defeated sigh. He didn't really plan on having his coffee tomorrow morning, but because Sonic asked him to get it, he kind of built up some excitement to have it again.

"I'll pay for you," Silver heard a voice form behind him. He turned around and saw that the biker offered to pay for his bill.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that, it seriously isn't a big deal," Silver nervously said to the black hedgehog.

"If it's no big deal than you won't have any issue with me paying for it, right?" the biker responded with a smirk on his face. He pulled out a ten and a one and gave it to Silver.

"Oh gosh, this is really nice of you to do," Silver praised the biker, "I must thank you somehow."

"How about we meet for lunch tomorrow, and you can buy for the both of us," the biker suggested.

Silver was surprised to hear the biker ask for that. He did not think he was the type to ask guys out for lunch.

"Yeah, I could do that. I have my lunch break at 12. Do you just want to meet here then?" Silver asked nervously.

"Sounds good to me, babe," the biker gave that same smirk again after calling Silver a pet name.

Silver giggled nervously and blushed as he took his coffee and change. He could not believe that this biker just called him "babe!" He thanked him again and headed toward his car. Before he opened the door of the café, he looked back at the biker and the biker winked at him causing Silver to get even more flustered. He frantically got into his car and started it up. Fortunately, the car started immediately unlike last time. He had to get home and tell his roommate about what just happened.

Silver walked down the hall of his apartment building until he reached number 17. He put the bag of coffee under his arm that was holding his brief case and took out his keys to unlock the door. The locks clicked and he pushed open the door and saw Sonic running on his treadmill.

"Sonic!" Silver called out to him, "You will never guess what happened to me at the coffee shop today!"

Sonic pressed some buttons on the treadmill and turned it off. He grabbed a towel he had set nearby and drank from his water bottle.

Breathing heavily, he said "I don't know. Tell me."

Silver lowered his eyebrows and whispered in a seductive voice, "I met a guy."

Sonic spat out some of the water he was drinking in shock. "Whoa, you met a guy? What's his name?"

Silver was about to say it, but he realized he never got the bikers name.

"You know, I never actually got his name," Silver said.

Sonic laughed. "So, you mean you met this guy, and you don't even know what his name is?"

"Well, I guess I forgot to ask him. I was really nervous. He was so hot, Sonic. And, he is a biker," Silver replied.

"A biker? Like motorcycles? I didn't think you were into bad boys, Silver."

"You know I am not into bad boys," Silver said almost annoyed, "I don't think he is one. I forgot my wallet here and he paid for the coffee for us. I asked how I could thank him, and he said to take him out to lunch."

"Sounds like a real gentleman," Sonic chimed from the kitchen, staring to make sandwiches for themselves.

"But, what makes it really interesting is that he called me babe," Silver continued, "and he winked at me before I left."

"Oh, dude, he is totally into you," Sonic replied, "I'm sure that accountant aesthetic you got going on really turned him on."

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Silver whined.

"Are you serious? You have a short sleeve button up shirt and a blue tie," Sonic joked with his roommate, "if it was a black one, everyone would think you is Mormon!"

"Very funny, Sonic. One of your best insults yet," the grey hedgehog said dully while Sonic practically cracked himself up over his borderline offensive joke.

"You know I am just messing with you," Sonic said as he bit into his sandwich, "I seriously hope your date tomorrow goes well."

"Yeah, my date…" Silver trailed off as he ate too. It has been awhile since he has dated, but for some reason, he felt like tomorrow would be something exciting.


	2. Printing and Sprinting

"Riiiinnnngg!" Silver's alarm clock wailed, waking up the slumbering hedgehog. He slammed down on the off button and threw his covers off with gusto. He had a date today.

Quickly making his way out of bed, he jogged to the light switch to illuminate his room, and then to the bathroom to clean his body. The hot water poured over his sterling quills, removing the toxins from the day before, fixing his bed hair. Silver grabbed his special soap with scented flakes to further clean himself. He did not use his special (not to mention expensive) soap often, but today was as special date: he had a date today.

Silver rinsed his fur one last time before turning the nozzle off. Hot steam enveloped the small apartment bathroom as Silver removed the shower curtain to grab his towel from the towel rack. His instinctively reached for his towel, which was always in the same spot, yet he felt nothing. Silver rubbed his eyes to remove the water and saw that his towel was missing.

"Oh no!" he shouted. "Where did my towel go? This can't be happening! I have a date today!"

Haphazardly, Silver tried to shake off as much water as possible in the bathroom before leaving to search for his towel. Once he had thought he was dry enough, he stepped out of the bathroom, and his wet feet instantly left foot prints on the carpet of his bedroom. He hurriedly made his way to the door. Silver figured that Sonic had done the laundry last night and forgot to tell him to get his towel out of the dryer. So, the grey hedgehog made his way to the washer-dryer combo that was through the kitchen.

Being oblivious to his surroundings, Silver did not see that Sonic was awake watching the news in the living room as Silver made his way to the dryer completely exposed.

"Whoa, hey! Looking good, Silver!" Sonic wolf whistled at his unclothed roommate.

"Sonic!" Silver screamed, nervously grabbing a couch pillow to cover his privates. "Why are you up so early? You are never up when I am!"

"I think the better question is why you are walking around the house naked," Sonic shot back with a bantering tone. "Do you streak through the apartment every morning or is this a special occasion?"

"For your information, I do not streak in the apartment. I am looking for my towel. It wasn't in my bathroom, so I figured you left it in the dryer."

"I figure you would be right!" Sonic confirmed Silver's assumption. "Hey, you should probably get it and get ready for work. You have a date today."

Silver shuffled his way to the living room, making sure he did not expose himself anymore to his azure roommate. Once he got out of sight, he tossed the pillow and took his towel out of the dryer.

"Well, since you are awake, you can help me pick out my outfit for today," Silver reasoned with Sonic.

"Oh, goodie! I'll be in your room in about five minutes," Sonic smirked.

Opening the door to his room, holding his towel tightly around his waist, Silver thought about what he should wear for his date today. He continued drying of his fur as he laid out some possible contenders for today's apparel. A knock came at the door, and Silver wrapped his towel to cover himself again. He did not t ogive Sonic a double take of what he had seen earlier.

"Come in!" Silver welcomed Sonic into his room.

"So, here is what I was thinking: I could wear my pink button up with burlap colored slacks, or I could wear my green and white striped polo with cargo shorts. What do you think?" Silver looked at Sonic for his thoughts on the matter.

"You should go with the first one. The second one will make you look like you are going on a safari," Sonic chuckled a bit at his own joke. Silver thanked him for his input, pushed him out of his room, and started to put on the first outfit for his date today.

Silver made his way to work in the sluggish traffic of Station Square. His finger tapped repeatedly on the steering wheel as he anxiously waited for the day to progress. He groaned and hit his head on the wheel: he hated having to wait all the way until lunch to see his date, his biker date, his rugged, dark, biker date, his sexy hedgehog of a date. Silver shook his head to remove any lewd thoughts. 'I can't start fantasizing about him now! It will just make it awkward later,' he thought.

After dealing with the morning traffic, Silver made his way through the parking garage of his work and found his spot. Silver hastily grabbed his work materials and brief case from the backseat and opened the door. With his hands full, he has to shut his car door with his behind. The door slammed loudly and Silver heard a clunk and shattering of glass. Near his feet sat the rear view mirror of his junkyard quality car.

"Okay, now I REALLY need to find a good mechanic," he said while setting his things down to pick up the broken car part. Silver decided to through it inside the trunk as he made his way up the office.

Friday's were very busy for Silver. Most of the employee's needed printed documents and presentation posters for Monday's workday. Because the majority of them had to get everything prepared that week, Friday was the last day they had to submit printing requests for Monday. Silver's department would get near 300 printing requests on average. Some were small, like 20 flyers for an example advertisement, but others were very time and ink consuming, like a 10 page packet that needed 30 copies, double sided, stapled, and on colored paper.

With the immense amount of printing requests, Silver was often inundated on Friday. Luckily, Silver spread his work load out between Friday and Saturday. Saturday's the building was not open for business hours, but maintenance workers, custodians, and printers were on the clock. What made this nice is that Silver did not have to work through lunch, being ever more important on the day he had a date.

"Good morning, Silver! How are the printers treating you today? Any paper jams?" A purple cat called out to Silver from the front desk of the printing department.

"Good morning, Blaze! Yeah, we have had four paper jams already on the same printer. I called maintenance about it earlier. They should be on their way down now. How are public relations?"

"Oh, it's the same as usual," Blaze adjusted the microphone headset she was wearing. "Some people have legitimate concerns, others are just a pain."

"Sorry to hear that, Blaze," silver walked toward the counter. "So, what brings you to my neck of the office building?"

"Believe it or not, I need something printed! I know I usually just e-mail you with a digital copy, but I was given a hardcopy by my supervisor and need 10 copies of it."

"Well, you came to the right place! I can have that for you now actually."

"Wonderful! I'll wait here then. So, Silver, are you still rooming with Sonic?"

Silver started to scan Blaze's document. "Yeah, I enjoy staying with him. He may get on my nerves at times, but I really don't mind it too much. Plus, I really don't make enough to live alone."

"You know he teases you because he is into you, right?" Blaze asked the hedgehog slyly with a smirk.

Silver started to blush as he walked to hand over the copies to Blaze. "What are you talking about? Sonic isn't into me like that. I don't even know if he is… you know…"

"I can't say I've ever seen him with a girl. Have you?"

"No, I guess not. But, it doesn't really matter right now. I have a date today with this dark, biker hedgehog."

"Oh, I had no idea you were into bad boys, Silver. Thanks for the copies!" Blaze chuckled and waved goodbye to her friend.

'Just because he is a punk biker doesn't mean he is a bad guy, right?' Silver thought to himself. First Sonic, and now Blaze, both assumed that his mysterious date was bad. 'No matter,' Silver thought, 'I think it might be fun being with a bad boy for a change.'

As the clock ticked on and on, Silver continued completing orders for the day. Blaze's comment lingered in his mind. Could Sonic really be into him? He had never considered the blue blur to feel that way about him, but the more Silver thought, the more he picked up on some hints Sonic could have been giving, like the morning's fiasco. 'Did Sonic not replace my towel on purpose?' Silver thought. 'That horny hog! He had that set up! Why else would he be up that early?'

Silver grunted and started some more prints. He could not believe the arrogance of his roommate, if his assumptions were correct. Silver did not really have convincing evidence that Sonic really was into him, so he just passed the thoughts on for better ones: ones about the date he had in 5 minutes ago.

"Oh my god! I am late for my date!" Silver was so focused on his work that he completely forgot to check the time for his lunch break. He stalled all his current printing jobs and made his way down to the parking garage. Running around the halls of the office, he finally got to the building's elevator and headed down.

Silver's feet swiftly hit the ground as he rushed to his car, hoping that it would start up quickly unlike the last few times. Using his key chain, he unlocked the car signaled by a double honk and flash of headlights. Silver jumped in and pulled out. He could not be late for his first date with the biker.

Silver made his way speedily through traffic. Being late was a pet peeve he had of others: he acknowledged that he was always a very peremptory person. Barely making his way through the tightly filled parking lot of Vector's Café, Silver found a spot near the back. He would have to walk a bit to get to the front door, but it was already 12:15, so being more tardy would not hurt him, but it could hurt his date.

Silver dashed to the front door of the café noticing the familiar motorcycle parked near the front. 'At least my date is timely: unlike me I suppose,' Silver thought. He walked inside with a few sweat beads on his forehead. Shifting his eyes to each table and booth of the café, he saw the black quills with red streaks sticking out from behind a booth near the back of the restaurant. Silver wiped off his forehead, adjusted his tucked shirt, and made his way to his ebony hedgehog of a date.

Silver slid into the other side of the booth, facing the dark hedgehog. "I am so sorry I am late. I promise I am never like this. I was so occupied at the office with all these print requests that I lost track of time and-"

"Hey, don't worry about it. Shit happens," the black hedgehog cut of Silver's litany of excuses, shocking him and halting his words.

"Um, uh, yeah," Silver was flustered by the laid back attitude of his date. Pausing for a moment, Silver finally spoke up.

"So, I don't think I ever caught your name yesterday. What is your name?"

"Shadow," he replied, "What's yours?"

"I'm Silver the Hedgehog. Thanks so much again for yesterday. It was so kind of you to do that for me. I'm glad I can repay you this way."

"Sure. While I was waiting, I took the liberty of ordering for the both of us. I hope you aren't a picky eater."

Silver was surprised at Shadow's forwardness. "No, I'm not at all. I love all the food here."

"Alright, good, it should be on its way out soon."

While Silver and Shadow waited for their food, Silver examined Shadow's appearance again. He was wearing a black leather jacket, opened up to reveal what he had underneath it. He had on a heather gray t-shirt which concealed the medallion of a necklace under it.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of necklace do you have?"

Shadow reached under his shirt and pulled out a spikey, almost circular, blood red medallion. It was a swirl with spikes poking out from the top and sides. Shadow held it from the chain so Silver could see it better.

"Wow," Silver was awestricken, "That is really interesting. Where did you get it?"

"I made it," Shadow said.

"You made that? That is so rad!"

Two plates of food were placed on the table by a waitress in front of the hedgehogs.

"Here you guys go: two chicken Paninis with homemade potato chips on the side. Enjoy!"

The two hedgehogs thanked their waitress and sunk their teeth into the food.

Silver swallowed his first bite and drank some of his white soda the waitress left.

"You know, I have never ordered this before, but I think I might start to! It is really good," Silver said while reaching for some chips.

Shadow nodded as he started to swallow his food. "Yeah, it is my favorite thing to get here."

After finishing off some more of his chips, Silver decided to get to know his date better.

"So, Shadow, what do you do for a living?"

"I do tattoos and piercings," the darker hedgehog replied.

Silver choked a bit on his drink. "Oh, that is really cool! I can't say I have ever met someone in the field. How do you like it?"

"I love it," Shadow said while swallowing another bite. "I like giving people lasting modifications to their bodies. Piercings and tattoos are the best way to show off your personality and your body."

"Well, that is awesome then!" Silver could not stop smiling at his date. He was so attractive and confident. 'How come he can keep his cool while I am here looking like The Joker?' Silver thought. He hoped his nerves and anxious temperament did not go through to Shadow.

"How about you? I catch from what you said earlier you work in business," Shadow asked the same question back at his date.

"Yeah, I work in the printing department for Robotnik Corp. Anything that needs excessive printing, copying, or coloring comes to me! We are super busy today too. Everyone sends in orders on Friday that I still have to work on Saturday. I do get paid hours though."

"Hmm, sounds like you have a lot to do today then," Shadow said standing up.

Silver stood up along with him. "Yeah, it is about time for me to make my way back to the office, but… um… before I go, could I, like, get your phone number or something?"

"Yeah, I'd be happy to give it to you," Shadow said pulling out his business card. "It has my personal number and workplace address on there if you are ever interested in coming in to get some work done."

"Heheh, I am not sure if I will do that, but thank you for the offer," Silver laughed. "So, how much was lunch? I promised I would pay you back."

"It's already taken care of," Shadow said back to him. "This wouldn't be much of a date if I didn't pay for you, right?"

Silver blushed at Shadow comment. He knew that this was a date, but hearing it from Shadow's lips made it really official.

"Yeah, heheh, I guess you are right," Silver could not stop nervously looking at Shadow. The hedgehog was so generous to have paid for both of their meals.

"Well, I should get going: I have to do a nipple piercing at 1:00." Shadow said. "Call me some time and we can do this again."

"Yeah, I totally will make sure I call! I enjoyed spending lunch with you," Silver said back to him.

"I look forward to hearing your voice again," Shadow said as he turned and walked out of the café, leaving Silver to look at his car again.

'A body piercing expert and a tattoo artist, huh? What have I gotten myself into?' Silver thought as he made his way to the back parking lot, looking at the card all the way there, wondering when to call Shadow, feeling glad he could stare at him again sometime soon.


	3. Repair Services

Upon making it back to work, Silver had a different mood than he had had before he went on his lunch date with Shadow. He was anxious before, considerably worried about how the date would go, yet he was still optimistic. His optimism proved to help him when he met Shadow at the café. Sitting down and being able to spend time with the dark figure brightened his spirits, and it would make the second half of the work day much more enjoyable knowing that he could text his current crush when he got home.

The thought of home Silver had as he made his way back to the printing department made him quizzical about Sonic's feelings. Silver could never imagine that someone like Sonic would be interested in him, but, then again, he couldn't imagine anyone like Shadow would be interested in him. An all-star athlete and a biker bad boy both hitting on him sounded more like Silver's freshman year in high school before he switched to a safer one. It was not easy for Silver to feign heterosexuality. He was bullied for his flamboyancy, which is why he freaked out when he accidently starred at Shadow for too long.

Silver shook those thoughts of his past out of his head. He was not the same person back then as he is now. He is more educated, more careful, and happier than he was in high school. Sonic's friendship has been a blessing to Silver, and Silver was forever grateful for Sonic's help with finding Silver a job and a place to stay. 'What if Sonic has been into me all this time? Should I talk to him about it? How could I-' Silver's thoughts of Sonic were cut short. There was someone behind the shelves in the printing department.

"Umm, hello? Can I help you?" Silver asked when he opened the door to his section of the office.

"Oh, hey! Sorry it took me so long to get to your printer: I decided to take a long lunch," the yellow-orange fox smiled and chuckled as he looked up from the printer he was fixing. "You must be Silver. My name is Miles from maintenance, but everyone just calls me Tails."

"Hi, Tails. Thank you for coming up and taking a look at my printer. I apologize for not being here to greet you."

"Oh, don't worry about it! Your e-mail was very detailed on the issues you were experiencing with the printer. In fact, I almost have it fixed! Turns out some of your gears were loose which was causing all the paper jams. Plus, I have keys to all the rooms in Robotnik Corp., so it wasn't hard getting in here while you were out to eat."

"That's good to hear! I usually can fix the printers myself, so I am glad to know that it was a more difficult problem instead of me just losing my edge," Silver laughed.

The fox laughed too as he finished tightening the last gear. "Well, that ought to do it. Do you have any questions?"

"No, I think I'm good! Thank you for helping again. I really appreciate it."

"Sure, no problem! It is my job after all," Tails laughed at his signature line.

The two-tailed maintenance worker was stepping out the door when Silver called out to him.

"Wait! Um, I actually do have a quick question."

"I probably have an answer," Tails smirked.

"You wouldn't happen to no a good mechanic would you? My car's rearview mirror fell off today and the engine never starts correctly."

"I sure do! I used to work in car repairs until I worked in printer repairs. I have their card here," Tails pulled out a business card and handed it to Silver.

"Angel Island Car Repairs: Knuckles the Echidna – Owner," Silver read the card aloud.

"Mention that I gave you his card and he will give you 10% off," the fox proclaimed.

"I'll be sure to. Thanks a million," Silver said.

Silver could not be more relieved that he finally found a mechanic. His car was falling apart, and if he was going to be seeing Shadow for lunch every day, he wanted to make sure he wouldn't have car troubles. Silver put the card in his wallet in front of the card Shadow gave him. His day was really turning around since this morning. Sonic's pepping, his car trouble, and the printer's malfunction did not seem so bleak now. All he could think about was Shadow.

'He's really such a gentleman: paying for our meal like that. I guess he is really into me,' Silver thought as he absent mindedly continued his work. As minutes turned into hours, Silver shift was almost up and he had a good chuck of the day's work finished. 'Maybe I can leave early tomorrow,' Silver wondered.

Making his way down the building, waving casually to his coworkers with a smile on his face, Silver got into the elevator and pushed the button for the parking garage level. When Silver finally made it to his car, he remembered that the rear view mirror was still busted. 'I'll call that Angel Island place after dinner tonight. Hopefully they can fix this quickly,' Silver wished. Getting in his hunk-of-junk automobile, Silver attempted to start it up and begin the drive home from the office. Sonic is always home before him since his training ends at 3:00 and Silver gets off at 5:00. Sonic would have dinner ready for the two of them by the time Silver got home, another reason Silver was grateful for Sonic's company.

Driving through rush hour traffic, Silver decided to turn on the radio to make the time go by faster. He flipped through the stations until he found one that he could bob his head and tap his steering wheel to. While idly waiting at a stoplight, Silver's stomach erupted in a growl.

"Guess I am hungrier than I thought," Silver said aloud to no one. He had to admit that lunch with Shadow was fantastic, and not just because he had a hot guy to watch while he ate, but also because he enjoyed the café's menu items. Nonetheless, he was starving for whatever Sonic was going to prepare for tonight's meal. Sonic was a great cook: the hedgehog equivalent of Bobby Flay. Most nights, Silver felt as if Sonic was making five-star meals for them to eat. When he had the opportunity, Silver would watch Sonic cook in the kitchen from the adjacent living room. The agile hedgehog knew his way around the kitchen well, and his expertise in athletics was tantamount to his cooking ones.

Thinking about Sonic's good food made Silver want to get home even sooner. His mouth watered at the anticipation for Sonic's famous cooking. Finally, Silver made it to his shared home and speedily made his way to the front door. Silver opened the door and was engulfed in the scent of wholesome cooking. He could smell seasoned meat and hearty potatoes along with steamed vegetables and maybe even a sweetened cake for dessert. The aroma of Chef Sonic's cooking lured Silver further into his house and placed him directly at the dining table.

"Wow, Sonic, what are you cooking? It smells delightful," Silver asked.

"Hey, good to see you are home! I actually got home earlier than usual so I decided I'd make a pot roast. I usually never get the chance to make it since it takes so long, but that day is not today!" Sonic replied while applying some of the final touches to his roast. Silver watched hungrily as Sonic brought the dish over and placed it in between their two plates. Sonic preemptively set the table for tonight's special dinner.

"Looks like it's time to chow down! The cooling time just ended too, so don't worry about burning that little tongue of yours," Sonic snickered. Silver ignored the remark for he was too distracted by the delicious meal that was just placed in front of him. Silver pulled off some of the roast to put on his plate, grabbing some potatoes and carrots too. Sonic did the same and then doused it in hot sauce. Sonic used to cook his meals with hot sauce in it, but Silver couldn't handle the kind of heat Sonic enjoyed.

As Silver took some bites of his food, he couldn't help but let out a moan as he stuffed his face full of good cooking. Sonic laughed at the ravenous hedgehog from the other side of the tables as he cut into his meat. The two started casually eating together and made it quarter way through their plates before the spoke.

"Oh, Sonic, this is amazing! You are such a great cook!" Silver praised his roommate.

"Glad you like it, buddy," Sonic said after swallowing another bite. "So, aren't you going to tell me how your date went? You were all concerned about it this morning."

Silver widened his eyes at the remark. He had completely forgotten all about his date with Shadow. He was too absorbed with Sonic's cooking to even think straight at the moment.

"Yeah, it went really well! I was a bit late to it, honestly, but he was very understanding. His name is Shadow and he does tattoos and body piercings," Silver stated.

"Whoa, whoa! A tattoo artist? Are you messin' with me?" asked Sonic jovially.

Silver nodded. "Yes, I know. I was shocked myself too. It is hard to believe a guy like him would be into me."

"What are you talking about Silver?" Sonic's tone changed to a more serious one. "You are one of the most amazing persons I know. You are the hardest worker in your department, you are so friendly and lighthearted, and you are pretty easy on the eyes. Who wouldn't be interested in dating you?"

Silver blushed. Sonic would always complement him when he would put himself down. "Thanks, Sonic. I am glad I have you to remind me that I'm not some loser."

"I am glad I have you so I don't have to eat this meal alone tonight," Sonic said.

Silver was taken aback by the comment. Sonic went about eating more of his food, so Silver did not want to disturb him. 'What did he mean by that? Is he lonely?' Silver thought to himself. It was hard to think that someone like Sonic would feel lonely considering how popular he was. Sonic set down his fork and slammed his hands on the table, scooting his chair out a bit.

"So, you up for some dessert? I made a gooey butter cake for us," Sonic proposed, knowing his friend would accept the offer.

"Hey, that's my favorite kind!" Silver said as Sonic went back into the kitchen to retrieve the confection.

"Yes, I know," Sonic came back with the yellowish cake and a spatula to serve it with. "That is why I made it for tonight. I wanted to celebrate your special day."

"You know, I don't care what anyone says Sonic, you are a very compassionate person," Silver said slyly.

"Oh, thanks, that is so nice- wait who said I wasn't compassionate?" Sonic inquired.

"Ha, ha! I am just messing with you, Sonic. Let's eat this cake!" Silver giggled.

Sonic cut into the cake and served a slice to Silver and himself. He sat back down in his chair, and the two hedgehogs enjoyed the sugary, gooey cake. Finishing up his piece, Silver excused himself from the table.

"I have to go call a mechanic about my car, and I don't want to wait until it gets too late. Thanks for cooking, Sonic. It all tasted fantastic," Silver stood up and pushed in his chair.

"No problem, buddy! I'm glad you are getting your car fixed. That thing can barely drive 10 miles per hour without being a hazard." Sonic picked up the plates on the table and headed toward the kitchen to put them in the dishwasher. Silver made his way to his bedroom down the hall and kept the door slightly ajar. He set his wallet, keys, and phone on his nightstand. Opening up his wallet, he pulled out the card for the mechanic and another card fell on the floor. Silver bent down and picked it up: Shadow the Hedgehog.

'I should send him a thank you text before I call the mechanic,' Silver pondered. Grabbing his phone, he made a new contact for his new date and sent him a text.

"Hey, it's Silver! Thanks so much for lunch today! I really had a great time. Sorry again for being late. I promise it won't happen next time." Message sent 7:34.

Silver went back into his phone app and dialed the number for Angel Island Car Repairs. Silver began to fidget as the phone continued to ring without an answer. He hoped the business hours were not over; he needed to get his car fixed as soon as possible so he wouldn't get a ticket or worse. Sonic wasn't lying when he said his car was a hazard to be on the road in its current condition.

"Angel Island Car Repairs: this is Knuckles speaking."

"Hi, I am having some problems with my car. I was wondering if you could take a look at it soon. The rear view mirror fell off, and it never starts correctly."

"I have an opening tomorrow morning at 9:00. Will that work?"

"No, I will be at work by then. Do you have any other available times?"

Silver heard pages flipping through the phone. "Sorry, that is the only opening I have for the next week. Could you have a friend bring it up for you?"

Silver thought for a moment. Sonic was off work tomorrow, so maybe he could take him to work and then visit the mechanic.

"I think I can do that. It is tomorrow at 9:00, right?"

"Yes, I can pencil you in. What is your name?"

"My name is Silver, but the person bringing my car in is named Sonic."

"Okay, I have you down for tomorrow at 9:00."

"Thank you very much! I am so glad I called," Silver was so happy he was finally getting his car fixed. Things were really turning around for him.

"No problem. Good-bye." The phone clicked.

Silver hung up his phone and called out for Sonic. He now has to tell his roommate he will be taking him to work and his car to the auto repair shop tomorrow.

"Hey, Sonic! Can you come in here for a moment, please?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Sonic had his toothbrush in his mouth so his speech was slurred. Silver also noticed that Sonic was only wearing his boxers. The azure hedgehog had the body of a true athlete: strong arms, defined abdominal muscles, and a sleek body structure. He was leaning against Silver's door frame in his red and white striped boxers.

"Uh, Silver? Hello? Why did you call me in here?" Sonic said. Silver hadn't noticed he was staring at the hedgehog's build. He had completely forgotten what he had called Sonic into his room for because he was too distracted by his roommate's casual appearance.

"I-I just finished calling a m-mechanic, and I was w-wondering if you c-could take me to work tomorrow because the only o-opening he had was too early for m-me," Silver stuttered incisively as he blushed.

"Yeah, sure, I can do that for you," Sonic walked out and spat out his toothpaste in the bathroom. "I'll set an alarm for tomorrow."

"Thanks, Sonic. I owe you one. Good night!"

"Night, Silver. I'm glad you enjoyed dinner," Sonic stopped one last time in Silver's room. "Do you want me to close this door for you?"

Silver nodded with his mouth open. He was still staring at his roommate. The door shut and Silver was forced back into reality. 'I don't think I have ever seen Sonic like that before. I guess I never thought he could be so attractive,' Silver thought as he changed into his pajamas. He turned out the light, checked to make sure his alarm was working, and got into bed.


	4. Working Hard

Even though Silver was ready to sleep, he wasn't able to fall asleep easily. He couldn't get the image of Sonic out of his mind. Sonic standing there so open in front of him, letting almost nothing be left to imagination. Silver buried his head into his pillow and gave a quiet scream trying to remove the lewd thoughts about his trusted roommate. He had lived with Sonic for a long time and never had these thoughts before. Did Blaze's comment trigger something in his mind?

Silver decided to distract himself from his thoughts by playing a game on his phone. As he went to unlock the screen, however, he saw a message from Shadow.

"You're welcome. Why don't we do it again tomorrow? Same place, same time." Read 8:11 PM.

Silver's face lit up when he read the message, partially from the phone's brightness, but mostly from how satisfied he was with the response he received.

"I would love to! See you then!" Message sent 8:12 PM.

Silver smiled and blushed as he set down his phone. As he laid his head back down on his pillow, he instantly remembered he would not have a car tomorrow to go out to eat. Sitting up straight, he grabbed his phone and shot another text at Shadow.

"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot my car is going to be in the shop tomorrow. I don't have a ride to get to the Café… I'm sorry…" Message sent 8:12 PM.

Feeling disappointed, Silver put his face in his hands. He really did not want to mess things up with Shadow. He knew they had only met twice, but there was just something about the dark hedgehog that made him feel butterflies. When Silver first saw the hedgehog's eyes when he removed his helmet, he felt something that he hadn't felt before. He hadn't really been on many dates nor had he had a true relationship. All these feelings were so new and strong.

Ding-Ding!

Silver took his hands away from his eyes when he heard the familiar text tone. He reached over and examined his phone.

"I can pick you up on my bike if you want." Read 8:20 PM.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to be late back to work…" Message sent 8:21 PM.

"Of course I'm sure. I'll be there at 12 in the back." Read 8:22 PM.

"Okay! As long as you are okay with it, I am too! :-)" Message sent 8:22 PM.

"Anything for you, babe." Read 8:25 PM.

Silver's face flushed red as he read the text over and over. Being called that name from Shadow- it made him feel so warm inside. He locked his phone and reattached the charger as he had the message still burned into his retinas. For his second date in a row, Silver was going to need to look his best tomorrow. His mind wondered as he rested in bed, fantasizing about tomorrow's events, until he slowly drifted off to sleep.

_'__Silver, you need to get these printed as soon as possible! The meeting is happening in an hour!' said a suited figure._

_'__I can't possibly get a million copies of a ten page document in that amount of time! It's no use!' Silver shouted as he was dealing with three paper jams at once, trying to fulfil an impossible request._

_A printer's paper holding chamber bursts out of its location and hits the front desk. Soon after, all the printers' chambers shot out hitting the desk with loud bangs. The business man hits his hands on the desk with strong force adding to the noise._

_'__Silver!' the business man shouts, more bangs come from the desk as Silver tugs on the printer's paper jam._

_'__Siiiiillllvveeeerrrr!' the man screams again, his fists hitting more rapidly._

"Silver!" Sonic yelled from outside his roommate's door, knocking to try and wake the sleeping hog. "Are you going to get up? It's already 6:20!"

"Huh? What? 6:20?" Silver slid his body from out from under the sheets. "It is already 6:20? What happened to my alarm?" Silver swiped his phone off the night stand and examined the problem; he set the alarm for PM, not AM.

"Can't I do anything right for once?" Silver cried out to himself as he rushed toward the bathroom to get ready.

"Yeah, there are plenty of things you can do right!" Sonic answered the rhetorical question of his roomie. "You are a really safe driver, you are super clean and organized, you always look so formal, and you miraculously manage to remember all of your passwords for your online accounts, even though they are all different!"

"Aw, thanks Sonic! I'm glad I am not a total failure in your emerald eyes," Silver responded as he undressed to get showered. "I'll be ready in thirty minutes. You might want to start the car before I get in case it decides not to work today."

"You got it, sleepy-head," Sonic replied as he took the keys off the kitchen counter and jingled them in his hand. Sonic had already been up since 5:00 AM. He went out for his morning run around the block and came home to shower. He was watching the morning news after his shower when he realized Silver had not woken up yet. He knew that his roommate usually hit snooze on his alarm clock, but today required punctuality. True to his caring nature, Sonic had to be the good guy and check on his resting buddy.

Spastically washing his quills, Silver rushed through his morning shower. Tardiness could not be an option today. His eyes remained wide open from the shock of accidently sleeping in and his movements were almost conditioned as all he could think about was finishing his current task to move onto the next. Silver's morning routine was not for the lethargic: wake up, get in shower, wash body, shampoo hair, condition hair (but only every other day), get out of shower, deal with unsightly blemishes, brush teeth, gargle mouthwash, floss, blow dry quills, dry body, put on clothes, tie tie, gather documents, eat breakfast, and leave for work. Miraculously, Silver was able to do all of those in the 30 minutes he told Sonic it would take.

Sonic was sitting in the car fiddling with the radio. The engine managed to start with only a few trials and that gave Sonic some time to find a station he liked. All of Silver's preset stations were pop and electronic, so Sonic had to tune manually to find the rock stations he listened to. As Sonic found his favorite station, Silver walked opened up the car door, almost startling the other hedgehog.

"That was fast," said Sonic. "But, still not as fast as me."

"I am just going to take that as your form of a compliment," Silver replied. "We need to get going. I can't be late for work!"

"Alright, alright, clam down," Sonic smirked. "I'll get you there just in time so you can take your lunch with your biker boyfriend."

Silver put his face in his hands to hide his blush. "Just drive, please!"

Sonic chuckled as he turned up his tunes and pulled onto the street. He loved seeing his roommate get red in the face. He almost saw it as cute.

"Thanks for driving me, Sonic. You can pick me up when I'm off right?"

Sonic nodded. "No problemo, amigo!"

"Do you need any help finding the mechanic's workshop?"

Sonic pulled out his smart phone. "I have a good GPS on here. Do you have his business card? I'll plug the address into it."

"Yes, I do," Silver pulled the card out from his wallet. "Be sure to mention Tails sent you so I can get the discount. Also, here is my debit card. Do not spend my money on chilidogs this time, okay?"

"That was only one time and it was years ago!"

"It was last week, Sonic."

"Tomato, tomato."

"Alright, bye for real. I have to get into work. My workload is pretty heavy these days."

"Catch ya' later, Silver! I promise I will get this car to the shop in no time."

Silver shut the car door and made his way into the glass skyscraper that was his work. He was a bit nervous about Sonic driving his car since he rarely sees Sonic drive. He mainly can just run everywhere he needs to, so Silver could never gage his driving abilities. But, he knew Sonic was reliable, and he trusted his roommate to get the job done.

Stepping into his office, Silver closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly to relax before starting his busy morning. A lot of printing requests can be sent by night, and many of those sent need to be ready for afternoon meetings. Then, Silver still had to fulfill walk-ins and e-mails sent during the day. He hoped that Tails got his printers fixed well enough to take the day's workload.

It was about 11:30 when Blaze came in to visit Silver.

"How go the presses?" she said, eating from her salad bowl.

Silver lifted his head from under the counter to talk with his coworker friend.

"I finished getting all the night submissions printed, and now, I am starting the morning submissions. Luckily, I haven't had any walk-ins."

"Ah, well allow me to change that for you," Blaze said handing him a sheet of paper.

Silver looked at the sheet. It was a half sheet with "You're Invited" in large font on the front with details about a birthday party on the back.

"You want me to make copies for your birthday invites?"

"Yes, I am going to need 10 of them, and of course one extra for yourself."

"Oh, Blaze! I would love to come! It says that you are having a place called: Passions?"

"Yeah, it is a club downtown. I know that really isn't your kind of scene, nor is it mine, but my friends said that I need to loosen up a bit."

Silver scanned the document into the system and started the print job.

"Well, I guess I could use some fun. Work has been pretty rough lately."

"Yes, you could!" Blaze agreed. "And, you are more than welcome to bring a plus one. Maybe that biker guy you've been seeing?"

"Oh, um, I-I guess I could ask him today to see if he is interested. I am not sure if he likes those kinds of places…" Silver brought Blaze her print request as he trailed off.

"The worst thing he can say is no, right? Ask him when you see him today at lunch."

"Yeah, I guess I can give it a shot," Silver paused, "Wait, how did you know I was seeing him again today? I didn't say anything about him today."

"Silver, I know you," Blaze said, "You have been working twice as hard as usual today so you can relax during your lunch. You also have that shine in your eye like you did yesterday. I can tell you really like him, Silver. Ask him."

Silver's face flushed with red as he tried to hide his reaction to Blaze outing him. "O-Okay," he said softly, "I'll ask him to come with me."

"Well, I suggest you get going then," Blaze said.

Silver looked down to his watch: 11:58. "Is it really lunch time already?" he cheered, finishing up the last print job of the morning. He folded the invitation into his pants pocket and rush out the door to clock out for lunch. As he was signing out, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Here in the back." from Shadow.

Silver was texting as he walked toward the elevator. "Great! I will be down in a minute." he replied.

The elevator dinged and started to descend into the parking garage. Silver's foot tapped with anticipation for his lunch date. As he thought about riding on Shadow's bike, he thought about how things were going with Sonic at the mechanic's shop…


	5. The Red Mechanic

Sonic watched Silver wake his way up to the building. He took out his smartphone and punched the address of the mechanic's shop into the GPS app.

"Making route to Angel Island Mechanics. You're estimated time of arrival is in 15 minutes."

"Way past cool! I might even have time to grab a chilidog on the way over," Sonic said as he pulled out onto the city streets.

The drive to the shop was not particularly confusing for Sonic since he usually ran all over the city becoming familiar with the roadways. The GPS was more of a way for him not to get distracted and miss a turn. His mind had a tendency to wonder and Silver would always complain about how short his attention span was whenever they would talk. It had become one of Silver's pet peeves with his roommate.

A few more turns and a short drive led Sonic to the place he needed to be. He parked Silver's car and went inside to talk to the mechanic. When he got inside, there was no one manning the front desk. He waited for a short while before he noticed a bell and decided to give it a few rings. He heard some noise come from a closed door behind him. It sounded like plastic jugs being kicked around or dropped or both. Within a few seconds, the door opened and out stepped a tall, red figure wearing a green polo with a name written in cursive embroidered on the left chest plate.

"Oh, hey! Sorry to have bothered you. I'm here for an appointment," Sonic said to the employee.

Sonic noticed that the worker's clothes and gloves were covered in oil and grease, probably stained from years of work.

"Name?" the worker was behind the counter looking at his computer screen.

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. But, I am here in place of Silver the Hedgehog. He had to go to work early so I drove him there today. Boy, his car really is messed up! Like, this morning I was-"

"Where is the car?" the red echidna silenced Sonic.

"Oh right! I have it parked outside. Do you want me to drive it into the shop?"

"Pull it through garage three. I will be out there to help guide you."

"No problemo!" Sonic cheerfully walked out of the shop's exit and got to Silver's car. He had a little trouble getting it to start, but he was finally able to get it on the fourth try without flooding the engine. He pulled the car around the back of the shop and saw garage three on the far right. The stoic echidna was standing in the middle of the space, waiting for Sonic to pull the car forward. The echidna gestured for Sonic to slowly drive the car inside and waved a bit to the left so he was on the car raisers correctly. The echidna held up an open palm signaling Sonic to stop. Sonic put the car in park, turned off the engine, and stepped out to talk to the echidna.

"Silver sent me an e-mail explaining what was wrong with the car. I should be able to fix it pretty quickly if the problem is what I think it is," the echidna said as Sonic walked closer to him.

"Do you have a general idea of how long? I was thinking about going for a run while I wait. It is never the wrong time to exercise, you know?"

"I expect one or two hours. I can send you a text when it is finished if you give me your cell phone number," the echidna pulled out a small flip phone and looked to Sonic to list off his phone number's digits.

"That would be great! My number is 312-555-5012. Oh, by the way, Silver wanted me to tell you that this guy named Tails told him that he should tell you that he told him to send him here."

The echidna finished dialing in the number into his contacts and shut the device. "Tails sent you? I'll be sure to give you a discount. It is one of the programs I offer here."

"You offer? Are you the owner?"

"Yes. I was going to call it Knuckles' Workshop, but I did not want to be labeled so strongly with the shop."

"So you're Knuckles, huh? I've been trying to read the cursive on your shirt, but I could only make out the letter K. Haha!"

"Sorry for not properly introducing myself earlier. I was cleaning up some oil jugs in the back and I think the fumes got to me a bit. The fresh air out here helps it," the echidna stuck out his hand," It is nice to meet you, Sonic."

Sonic shook the mechanic's hand strongly, "Nice to meet you too!"

Sonic was enjoying his run around the city, but he tried to stay pretty close to the shop so he could get there quickly if he received a text from Knuckles. The cool air was refreshing to feel as Sonic ran through the sidewalks of the residential part of the city. He would occasionally hear the crunch of leaves if he was running nearby the yellow, red, and orange trees, but he mostly heard the sound of his rock music through his headphones. Sonic ran by many outdoor restaurants as he was on his ran, smelling the delicious food and the overabundance of pumpkin spice lattés near the coffee shop.

The hedgehog managed to break a sweat even though he was in the cooler air. His sport jacket had managed to keep him warm enough to not be affected by the sometimes frigid air, but also increased his likelihood to start sweating. He stopped into a convenience store to get some sports drink so he would not get too dehydrated on his run. He picked out his favorite flavor (the blue one), and drank most of it before he got to the checkout. As he was stepping outside after paying, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Like he expected, the text was from Knuckles.

"I'll be finished up in about 20 minutes. You might want to start making your way back." Read 10:55.

"Awesome! I am making my way back now."

Sonic switched to his music player and picked some more hard rock for the run back to the shop. He was about a 30 minute run away, but he had confidence in his running ability. The music was just to add some flourish to his trip.

What started out as a slow, peaceful jog turned into Sonic sprinting at high speeds through the sidewalks, avoiding the pedestrians in his path. He was going faster than some bicycle riders, and he waved to them as he passed them by, with his trademark smile on his face. Leaves would start to fly up in the air as he ran through the tree covered areas, going so high up from the wind that they almost reached up to the points they fell from. He powered through the entire run and started to slow himself down as he approached the street corner where Angel Island Mechanics stood. He hit the crosswalk button and waited and watched until the red hand turned into a white stickman walking.

"Glad to see you back so soon. I just finished up fixing your friend's ca," the mechanic said while pushing himself out from under the car.

"Looks like I made it just in time! So what do I owe you?"

"It was an easy fix, and I did not have to exchange any parts, so I guess that would put it around $130 with the discount added. I can check you out at the front desk."

"You don't really have to be at the front desk to check me out!" Sonic said chuckling and flexing his muscles.

The echidna blushed, half embarrassed and half angry, "You know what I meant, hedgehog."

"Haha! I'm just playing with you, bud! C'mon, let's seal the deal with this car business." Sonic turned around and walked toward the office section of the building, strutting his stuff as the echidna followed.

Sonic handed Knuckles Silver's credit card. Selecting the debit option from the card scanner, he paid for the repairs.

Knuckles looked at his wrist watch, "Well, that last repair lead me into lunch time."

Sonic's stomach growled at the mention of lunch. "Oh yeah, I could go for some chilidogs right about now!" Sonic thought for a moment, "Hey, you seem like a cool guy, want to grab lunch together?"

The echidna's eyes widened from behind his desk at the request from the blue blur. "Uh, yeah, I wouldn't mind. Have any place in mind?"

"I know a great place. Just follow my- well, Silver's- car and we will get there in no time!"


End file.
